Ultraman: El ascenso

Giving this an 8/10 rating

This brilliant film is in the cinemas now, I watched it in one, this really caught me off guard, in a good way. Adapting these big Japanese characters is a very difficult task, and almost all fall, but thankfully, they decided to do this animated, and spend time on story and character. The animation, by ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) is best there is this year.

Three good animated films, this week, they are 'Inside Out 2, Deep Sea' and this. What a week for cinema! The directors Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima have done a clever looking film, some very good cinema photography and clean direction, makes things very pleasant. Shannon Tindle and Marc Haimes write a family story with three points of view, and you can debate on who is the real evil is, in this, so you can agree on motives or not.

To be clear, you don't have to know anything about 'Ultraman' to enjoy this, the design is sharp and colourful, dialogue is not wishy washy, and a great cast is held together by a soundtrack that punches along. A great watch in the cinema.

Pretty good for any Ultraman fan out there, good job.

The story draws on many of the old and new things that make up the Ultraman series, the easy-going vibe, the cool fights, and most of all the simple but heartful message.

Ive seen complaints that it isnt as serious as Ultraman should be, but honestly you can have any story with this character, campy and easy-going at times like the original 66 Ultraman, more serious like Ultraseven or Nexus, or a middle point like Tiga, in the end it's still Ultraman, and I personally believe it's a great new story for possible new fans, specially because it's on such a worldwide platform like Netflix. I really hope this is the gateway for lots of new fans, I think it very well could be, and even if it isn't, it for sure told a great Ultraman story that newcomers and old fans can enjoy, on that note, go watch Ultraman Mebius I think the vibes are very similar.

-Shuwatch.

I originally was not enjoying this film. I thought it was going to be just a typical story about a hero getting humbled to beat a better hero. Then the baby kaiju was introduced and this film revealed what it really was, a story about parenthood and just how lovely it is. With the main character, Sato, starting off the most unlikable character I've ever seen, but throughout the film becoming infinitely more likable. The animation is drop dead gorgeous, every frame looks like a painting. The fight choreography is stellar in most fights. The score sounds pretty average mostly until some fights where they pull out the guitar and just start shredding. Overall I enjoyed the film and am looking forward to other projects to come out of this studio.

First thing, I would rate this a 10/10 but giving I know nothing about the OG Ultraman it's a 9/10. All that said- it's amazing. In other reviews alot of people called the animation "good" but it's absolutely gorgeous. I can tell their are references to the OG Ultraman in it. Now a main part of the movie is "family". It's written many times very cringe in other movies but here it's actually written well without needing to become a meme. I would also say that this movie is also able to be appealing to all ages. I'm in the young adult age range (13-22) if that gives you any help. The animation did draw me in but I did stay for the story. I was able to watch it in one sitting without being bored or it just playing in the background. I extremely recommend watching it. Even the score and music in great (along with the OG references)

I am not really familiar with the Ultraman lore. I know he's a guy who can grow to the size of a monster and often fights against kaijus. There is some sort of Kaiju Defense Force that also fights kaijus. Somehow, this film becomes the story of Ultraman defending a kaiju baby from the KDF, which is ironic, but kind of fun.

However, the true strength (and weakness) of the movie is not in the monster battles, but in the story of a young man trying to juggle career, family, child raising and personal life at the same time. Did I want this in a Kaiju movie? Maybe not, but at the same time it was what gave the characters depth and the story emotional power.

Also, this is a kiddie film, designed to appeal to small children and their parents who, probably, try to juggle a lot of things too, so technically it was good product.